The “ridiculous” 2012 role Greta Gerwig was talked into playing: “It feels kind of disgusting”Before Barbie, and even before Little Women and Lady Bird, Greta Gerwig existed firmly in the arena of super low-budget indie cinema, becoming somewhat of a mumblecore icon when she emerged in front of cameras in the mid-2000s. That’s not to say that Gerwig is Frances, but it would be hard to write a script like Frances Ha without drawing from those universal experiences of feeling lost and confused in your 20s. “Noah said, ‘That’s ridiculous; you’re playing Frances.’ Who else could play Frances better than Gerwig? With a gleeful insouciance, the actor charmed audiences, yet she was easily able to sink into more serious moments of upset and contemplation, allowing Frances Ha to exist in a way that is as heartfelt as it is funny.